Hayden Panettiere, child actor turned adult star of ‘Heroes’ and ‘Nashville,’ dies at 36

Hayden Panettiere, star of popular television series including “Heroes” and “Nashville,” has died.

She was 36.

Panettiere’s father, Skip, announced the actor’s death in a statement provided to ABC News on Sunday.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.

She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” his statement said.

No cause of death was announced, and a publicist for Hayden Panettiere did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.

Panettiere, who would have turned 37 on Friday, began her career as a child actor in commercials and soap operas.

Her role as a cheerleader with superpowers in “Heroes” propelled her to fame in 2006, with the series revolving around the mantra “Save the cheerleader, save the world.” “I think ‘Heroes’ is really hot because it’s just a really great combination of everything that people love — they love reality, they love sci-fi and things like X-Men where they get to dream of something bigger,” Panettiere told The Associated Press in 2008.

“And at the core of it are these human stories that people can relate to, very rugged.

And it’s just grabbed everyone in every age group.” She went on to win three Teen Choice Awards for that role and was a Grammy Award nominee for a children’s spoken word album recorded a few years after the release of the animated movie “A Bug’s Life.” Panettiere later played a brash country upstart opposite Connie Britton on “Nashville,” which aired on ABC for four seasons before being canceled and revived on CMT.

She did her own singing in the show, which scored some hits on country charts, spawned U.S. tours and earned Panettiere two supporting actress Golden Globe nominations.

Panettiere had 11 songs recorded for “Nashville” appear on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs charts during the show’s run, including two featuring Britton.

Panettiere’s younger brother, Jansen, who was also an actor, died of a heart condition in 2023, at age 28.

She had been open about her struggles with alcohol addiction and depression , including after the birth of her daughter with Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.